


Battle Begins

by 0bviousLeigh



Series: Yuma is a Girl [39]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal
Genre: Gender or Sex Swap, Other, Swearing, all goes to hell
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-20
Updated: 2018-01-20
Packaged: 2019-03-07 06:39:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13428981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/0bviousLeigh/pseuds/0bviousLeigh
Summary: Yuma encounters Vector and Rei is kidnapped.





	Battle Begins

Yuma sneaks out of her house at midnight to meet with Rei at the docks. As she arrives a sphere field fades, and Yuma catches a glimpse of a purple-skinned figure with a hood up before it disappears. She sees Rei slumped next to a shipping container and rushes to his side.

“You okay?” She asks, pressing a hand to his cheek. His skin is clammy and cold. She wrinkles her nose and wipes her hand on her pants. “Who was that?”

“Vector,” Rei hisses, “The last Barian Emperor and a monster if there ever was one. I’ve been tracking him for so long, and I can’t let him get away now.” He gets to his feet. “Yuma, I’m going to follow him, and I need you to keep a look out for danger while I’m gone.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out five cards. “These should help you.”

Yuma takes the cards and looks them over. “Are they all from Barian world?” she asks.

Rei nods. “Don’t let Astral see them.”

Yuma frowns. “Rei, isn’t it time to clue him in? I think having him in the know could help us.”

“I know you hate lying to him,” Rei says, “But I’m about to go on a dangerous mission, I can’t take time to explain things to him or jeopardize my cover.”

Yuma sighs. “Oh, very well. I wish you luck with your hunt.”

Rei smiles. “Thank you, and good luck to you, too.”

Rei disappears, and Yuma starts to walk home. When she leaves this shipping yard, Astral appears over her shoulder.

“Let’s see these cards,” Astral says.

Yuma holds them up. “Between them and Hope, we should be just fine against all Barians.”

 

* * *

 

If it were a little brighter, Barian world would be gorgeous. With all the crystal points jutting out of the ground and buildings, the world could have been awash in rainbows and dancing lights. But the sun wasn’t out at the moment, and even if it was, it never would have penetrated the depths of the Barian Emperor’s castle to light up the throne room.

At the moment, the throne sat empty, a constant reminder of the lost Emperor and his right-hand, his sister. Two Barians, Alit and Gilag, were encased in amber crystal as they recovered from the injuries they had sustained on earth. The cocoons hovered midway up the stairs to the throne, the Barians inside them appearing lifeless.

Standing below the sleeping Barians, Mizael balls his hands into fists. “That pesky little girl is becoming a bigger issue than any of us foresaw,” he growls. “She and Astral must pay for what happened to Gilag and Alit.”

“I agree,” his companion says, “But if we don’t want to end up just like them, we have to be careful. Clearly, the girl and the original number are formidable.”

“How boring,” drawls a third voice, one that makes the other two snap to attention. Up on the throne sits a new Barian—he lies across the seat of power with the air of one who has no regard for authority of any kind. He wags his finger at the other two. “But why am I surprised? Durbe is the very living definition of boring!”

“Finally shown your face, have you?” Durbe asks the third Barian.

“Vector, you bastard!” Mizael shouts.

Vector giggles madly and descends from the throne, stopping at the amber cocoons. “Oh, what a mess!” He cries. “This is what happens when you let simpletons do the heavy lifting.” He holds a hand behind his ear. “What’s that? _‘Please help us, Vector-sama, please forgive us for our misdeeds!’”_ Vector laughs and skips down the rest of the steps to stand before his fellow Barians. “Never fear, merciful Vector will forgive you!” He crows.

Mizael aims a punch at Vector’s face, but Durbe stops him.

“Now isn’t the time for infighting,” Durbe admonishes, “We’re now down four of our original grouping. We need each other.”

Mizael scoffs and lowers his hand. “Like I’ll ever rely on this slime,” he says.

“That being said,” Durbe continues, as though Mizael hadn’t spoken, “Vector, you have much to answer for. You haven’t returned since your plan to use Faker and Tron failed. Astral world is still causing headaches, and it’s all because Astral and Yuma defeated you.”

“Did they?!” Vector gasps, hands to his face. “Oh my, but you seem to have missed the point, my fellow Emperors! You see, while you sat here and did nothing, I saw Astral and Yuma’s true power! I felt it, I lived it, and now I know the extent of their strength and how to surpass it!” He laughs, “A thousand failures leading to one great victory, and not just against Yuma and Astral, but Kite and Ryoga as well.”

“Enough of this nonsense,” Mizael snaps, but Durbe stops him again.

“Fine, we’ll let this play out,” Durbe says. “But this is your last chance to do things your way.”

Vector laughs. “I’ll deliver those four to you, we won’t need any more chances after this!”

 

* * *

 

Yuma looks left and right. “Can’t trust shit,” she mutters, “Not even that tree over there…” she runs to the tree and kicks it. “Right, can trust that tree,” she whimpers, holding her leg.

Tokunosuke sighs. “Has she lost her mind?”

Cathy holds her hands up, fingers like claws, and Rio and Kotori both grab her wrists before she can harm Tokunosuke.

“It’s entirely possible,” Ryoga says tiredly. “She’s been like this since two days ago. Muttering at things, constantly checking her deck, looking around corners with mirrors…” She’s been carrying her backpack full of questionable stuff around in all that time, as well. Ryoga’s pretty sure a knife had been added to its contents.

“INCOMING!” Yuma screams, pointing at the sky.

“What now?” Tetsuo asks, but this time, there is something to fear. What looks like a meteor comes streaking at them, and the group dives for cover as it collides with the earth.

“I knew it!” Yuma screams, “Can’t have a moment of peace!”

“Peace?!” A voice cackles, “I hate the word, as I hate Astral world!”

The voice sends a shiver down Ryoga’s spine, it’s horrible, yet somehow familiar, like he’s heard it in a nightmare. A Barian is revealed briefly, one with purple skin, claw-like nails and glowing red eyes, but then it tosses up a sphere cube.

Ryoga cries out for Yuma just as she pushes the button on her ring, and the red light of the sphere obscures her from view. He grabs his phone and calls Kite. “Get down here now!” Ryoga screams as Kite or Orbital or someone answers, “We’ve got major trouble!”

The group hears the Barian identify himself as Vector, the one who took control of Dr. Faker. As much as Ryoga can’t stand Kite, he hopes that masochistic emo man-child shows up soon.

They hear Vector Xyz summon Numbers 66, and hear him accuse Yuma of holding a Barian card.

“Is that true?” Kotori asks.

Ryoga doesn’t hear Yuma’s response, he just hears Vector cackling.

Yuma summons Hope, and Ryoga knows Vector’s life points take a blow. The sphere lights up where the Barian’s body hits it. This is too easy, it must be planning something…Rio seizes Ryoga’s hand and squeezes it.

Vector announces his turn, and plays a card that allows him to regain life points. He attacks, and Yuma deflects as best she can, but an attack manages to land, and the sphere lights up as she hits the wall.

“I’ll destroy you,” Vector snarls, “Then I’ll destroy this whole filthy world!”

“YUMA!” screams a familiar voice, “Don’t listen to him!”

Everyone turns to see Rei standing a few yards away. He cups his hands around his mouth and shouts, “Believe in your deck!”

From within the sphere, Yuma laughs. “KATTOBINGU!” She screams.

Yuma starts playing cards that Ryoga has never heard of, and she brings out a new version of Hope, Hope Ray V. She deals a crushing blow and…defeats Vector.

The sphere field fades, and Yuma floats to the ground. Vector lies on the floor, but as Yuma’s feet touch the sidewalk, he begins to laugh.

“Did you honestly think I would make it that easy for you?” Vector snarls. “I’m going to ruin you!” He reaches out with a glowing arm, an arm that extends from his body, and makes a grab for Yuma, but Rei leaps in front of her and the hand grabs him instead.

“No!” Yuma screams.

Vector laughs as he drags Rei forward, “Do you want to save him?” He tosses a card to Astral, and Astral catches it. “Take that, it’ll be the key you need to find me.”

Yuma races towards Vector and Rei, but Vector disappears into a portal before she can reach them, Rei screaming as he vanishes.

“No!” Yuma wails, falling to her knees, “No, no, no!” She slams her fists into the sidewalk.

Ryoga and Rio run to her side. “Are you hurt?” Ryoga asks.

“It’ll be okay, we’ll find him,” Rio says at the same time.

Yuma shakes her head, tears dripping from her cheeks. “I was supposed to be on the lookout,” she sobs, “I promised, he was trying to protect me, it’s all my fault!”

“What is happening here?” Comes Kite’s voice.

Yuma whirls around as Kite lands behind them. She leaps to her feet and seizes Kite by the collar. “You,” she snarls, “You’re going to help me get Rei back—I’m still the leader of this duel gang!”

Kite gives her a cold look. “An explanation would be nice before you jump into making demands—I have no idea what’s going on.”

“What’s going on is Rei’s been kidnapped by some Barian scum named Vector and I need to find him!” Yuma screams.

“Stop screaming in my face,” Kite says, shoving her away. “It’s rude.”

Yuma looks like she’s about to explode. Ryoga puts a hand on her shoulder and tugs her away from Kite before she can slap him across the face.

“Let’s get to Heartland tower, then you can tell us more,” Ryoga says.

Yuma glowers at Kite, but keeps her mouth shut. They all set off for the city.

 

 

Within the Key, Astral holds up Numbers 66. The card glows, and begins to change shape. Something like a question mark with a sharp point emerges, and flies into the depths of the air ship. Above Astral, something else begins to glow—it looks like a globe, and within the globe is a blinking, red dot.

 

 

Yuma knows her friends are going to give her hell for making them go home, but it’s bad enough that Rei is gone and now Rio and Ryoga are involved in this, she can’t risk losing any more friends.

Yuma paces Kite’s living room, twisting the ring he gave her around her finger as she fills everyone in on the last few weeks. “…So I disobeyed Rei’s wishes and told Astral everything anyway. Then Rei battle Vector a few days ago but Vector disappeared when I showed up and Rei said he was going after Vector. Then Vector showed up here and I won a duel against him, but he had this in mind all along, he was going to take me but he grabbed Rei instead and who knows what that freak is doing to Rei!!!”

“But Rei is a Barian,” Rio says soothingly, “Maybe Vector won’t hurt him.”

“I’ve got a bad feeling about Vector,” Yuma says, shaking her head, “He’s trouble.”

“I don’t see how I’m supposed to help,” Kite says.

Yuma whirls on him. “Can’t you track Barian energy signals or some shit?!”

“And if I could, what would you do?” Kite asks. “Look at you, you’re hysterical.”

Yuma reaches for her backpack, and Ryoga moves to stop her, but before either of them can get that far, Orbital pops up on a screen in front of Kite.

“Kite-sama! There’s been a disturbance in the gravitational force above the tower!”

The four of them race to the windows. “Is it them?” Rio cries, “The Barians?”

“One way to find out!” Ryoga says, and he takes off running for the stairs, the other three on his heels.

Heartland tower is still being rebuilt, so the roof isn’t as high up as it used to be. The foursome emerge on the construction site, and take in the swirling black clouds above them. A golden light bursts forth from Yuma’s key and she cries out as it connects to the clouds.

The clouds part, making way for what looks like something out of a steam-punk cartoon. It’s comprised of giant metal gears and bigger even than Heartland tower when it was in one piece…and it’s headed right for them.

The foursome leap out of the way as the ship collides with the tower, but there’s no crash, no smoke. Cautiously, the group looks over the edge of the air conditioning unit that they’re hiding behind.

“Hey, I know what this is!” Yuma cries.

“Me too, it’s from inside the Emperor’s Key,” Kite says. “How is it here?”

A golden light shines like a sunbeam from the ship, and Astral floats out along the path. Yuma’s heart skips a beat—he looks like an angel. She runs to him and hugs him.

“Are you hurt?” She demands, “You disappeared so quickly after the fight with Vector…”

Astral hugs her back. “I’m fine,” he says. “I studied the card Vector gave me. It activated the ship, and gave me coordinates to another world. Most likely it’s Barian world, and most likely it’s where Vector is holding Rei.”

Yuma shudders. “Shit,” she says. “We have to go to Barian world?”

Astral puts his hands on her cheeks. “It’s up to you,” he says. “The airship is gathering energy. We need at least twelve hours.”

Yuma gulps. “I’ll go,” she says. “If it’s okay with you.”

Astral kisses her briefly. “I know Rei means as much to you as our other friends. I’ll be there with you.”

“As will I,” Ryoga says. “I’ve got a bone to pick with Vector.”

“Same,” Rio says. “And I can’t let my brother go alone.”

“I suppose you’ll all need adult supervision,” Kite says.

“Guys,” Yuma cries, interrupting Ryoga as he makes to yell at Kite, “We don’t know what’s waiting for us…”

Rio throws an arm over Yuma’s shoulders. “All the more reason for you not to go alone.”

Yuma can see there’s no point arguing. “Okay,” she says. “We leave tomorrow.”

 

 

At home, Yuma keeps her mood light and tells grandma and Akari that she’s spending the weekend with Rio and Ryoga. It’s not uncommon, and she doesn’t let herself act any different than she normally would. No one mentions the giant sci-fi looking ship over Heartland tower—maybe it’s like Astral, only a few people can see it.

That night Yuma hides a letter in the attic, one that explains the truth. If something goes wrong, maybe her family will find it someday.

 

 

In the morning, Yuma takes off early with her bag full of possibly-illegal things, lunch, and her deck. She finds a surprise waiting for her outside of Heartland tower—Kotori, with a bag of her own slung over her shoulders and her taser in hand.

“I suppose you know you shouldn’t be here,” Yuma tells here.

“Neither should you,” Kotori says. “You’re fourteen and you wanna go, where, another world? To rescue a person from aliens? That’s not a job for a kid like me or you, not even a kid like Kite. Unfortunately, the only way I could convince the others to stay out of this was to promise them I’d help get Rei back, I think they’re watching to make sure I get into the tower.” She grins. “Besides, I’m still part of this duel gang.”

Yuma sighs. “I suppose can’t stop you, can I? Okay, let’s get this show on the road.”

They head up to the top of the tower, where Kite, Orbital, Ryoga and Rio wait. A green light beams them up to the ship, which looks as majorly cool from the inside as it does from the outside. Astral greets them inside and points to a green glowing orb above a control panel.

“The blue light is this ship,” Astral says, “The red is the coordinates Vector gave me. This ship will open a portal to get us there.”

“How do we steer?” Yuma asks.

Astral grins at her and guides her to a wheel much like that seen on an old-fashioned Earth ship. “Like this,” he says.

Yuma looks at him incredulously. “You want me to steer the mystery ship?”

“I’ll navigate!” Rio cries.

“I’ll stare at this screen,” Ryoga says.

“Guess I’ll watch this one,” Kite says with a shrug. “Orbital, make yourself useful.”

“Oye!” Yuma cries, “I lead the gang and that means I boss Orbital around! Now Orbital, go make yourself useful.”

Orbital grumbles and rolls over to a screen.

“I brought snacks!” Kotori says cheerfully. “We’ve got this!”

And with that, the airship takes off. They fly towards the sky, and a wormhole opens up in front of them. The ship sails right into the tunnel, and through the few windows and numerous screens, Yuma can see a swirling of green, purple, and blue lights.

“This is weird,” she says. “Wonder if anyone saw that wormhole open on Earth.”

“This could blow the lid off of science itself,” Kotori says. “Too bad we can’t tell anyone.”

There’s a few moments of silence as the magnitude of what they’re actually doing seems to settle over them. They’re traveling between dimensions, a feat no scientist on earth would believe possible in the present day and age—maybe hundreds of years into the future, but now? And for it to be a group of teenagers and an invisible alien making the trip no less?

Yuma never imagined her life taking this turn.

“Can we name this a galaxy hole instead of a wormhole?” Rio asks, breaking the silence, “Galaxy hole sounds prettier.”

Before Yuma can agree, an alarm goes off.

“Incoming projectiles!” Astral cries.

A screen lights up, showing…duel monsters?!

“What the flying fuck?” Yuma screams. The ship rocks, sending the lot of them flying to the floor. Yuma struggles to get back to her feet as the ship sways. They’ve got to get rid of these monsters! “Kite, can we breathe out there?” She calls.

“Sure, I guess,” Kite says, already taking off for a staircase.

“Okay, out we go!” Yuma says, pausing long enough to grab the pocket knife from her bag of tricks. One can never be too careful, after all.

“What do you mean, you guess?!” Ryoga shouts.

“Don’t be a wimp!” Rio says, running after Yuma.

“Kotori, steer us!” Yuma yells back as she climbs a staircase to an escape hatch. On the top of the ship, she stumbles across the roof and takes in the monsters swarming them. She summons Hope, and next to her, Kite summons Galaxy Eyes, Ryoga summons Shark Drake, and Rio summons Sylphine.

They do battle with their ace monster, defeating the incoming monsters easily, too easily for Yuma’s taste.

“Back inside!” She yells as things start to look hairy in the swirling tunnel-lights.

They dash back for the hatch, and just as Yuma slips in last, the ship is rocked yet again. Yuma hangs tight to the handrail as her friends tumble. She screams as the ship is enveloped by purple lightning and lists to one side. She shut her eyes, and doesn’t open them until she feels the ship go still.

Yuma peers out through the still-open escape hatch and finds herself staring at a floating pile of rubble. She pokes her head out of the hatch and finds a world of floating rubble. The ship seems to be resting on a broken airship runway.

“Everyone okay?” Yuma calls down to her friends. She hears several groans in response, and Astral joins her at the open hatch.

“This isn’t Barian world,” Astral says, “But I think these are the coordinates that Vector gave us.”

Yuma nods. “We’re here, guys!” She shouts. “Up and at ‘em, Kite and Ryoga! Kotori, Rio, see if you can get the ship running again!” She pats her pocket to make sure her deck and knife are still with her, then she leaps out of the hatch and races across the ship’s roof to a ladder. She climbs down, Kite and Ryoga following her.

Yuma jumps the last few rungs, stands on the broken-up runway, and looks around. “What a dump,” she says. “Is that a World War two plane? What is this place?”

“WELCOME TO SARGASSO!”

Yuma whirls to the voice and sees Vector standing several feet away, across from a crack in the runway, looking like the monster Yuma knows him to be.

“This is a graveyard,” Vector says through his mouthless face, “The place you will finally rest.”

“I’ve always wanted to die in a graveyard,” Yuma says sarcastically.

Two other Barians step out from the shadows of the trash world, one Yuma recognizes as Mizael, the bastard. The other, she’s never seen before.

Vector nods to the two. “Mizael, Durbe, I believe you have work to do?”

The two disappear, and Yuma looks around to see them reappear on other trash heaps. Ryoga and Kite take off for them, and Yuma turns back to Vector.

“Now, where is Rei?” She demands.

Vector giggles and snaps his fingers. Rei’s prone body lays at his feet, he’s in one piece, but very still…too still.

“WHAT DID YOU DO?!” Yuma screams.

“So sorry,” Vector says, “He was more fragile than I anticipated. Too bad you didn’t get here sooner.”

Yuma’s blood runs cold. “No,” she whispers.

“He screamed for you,” Vector says, his eyes glowing. “At first, that is. In the end, he screamed for death, so I gave it to him.”

Yuma falls to her knees. Why can she picture it so clearly? Why can she imagine Vector being so cruel, torturing Rei without drawing blood? She remembers Rei, that first day she met him, how he smiled at her. Even if he was a Barian, even if he lied to her, they had fun, he was her friend. He was always down for a new adventure, always smiling, always so positive about everything. Now he’s gone, that light in his soul extinguished by a monster.

But still, something feels…off. Red’s motto comes to her, _‘Trust nothing.’_

“Rei was Barian!” Yuma screams. “If he’s dead, why is he still human? This is a trick!” It has to be, it has to be, she can’t have come this far for it to be over.

“That’s right!” Ryoga shouts. “Yuma, stay strong!”

Yuma nods, and sets her duel disk. It’s not over until it’s over, and this is far from over.


End file.
